When you think of TGI Fridays, I’m sure the same image is conjured up in your mind: plastic booths, cheesy signs on the wall, and menus full of oversized drinks and entrees.  This look has served the restaurant for over 51 years, but soon that will all be changing.

At the beginning of March, the restaurant unveiled a prototype in Corpus Christie, TX and it is a far departure from the franchise’s usual kitschy appearance.  The exterior features a new, simplified logo that has dropped the shape, but kept its recognizable red and white stripes.  The contemporary upgrade is also adaptable to future endeavors and products.

The biggest changes, however, will occur inside and is where the restaurant will benefit the most.  The new TGI Fridays is a “light-filled terrain of blond wood” (AdWeek) with the bar as the focal point.  In addition to alcoholic beverages, the bar will now be a station for coffee and juices.  With a start time at 7 a.m., the restaurant will feature a grab-and-go deli case with sandwiches and snacks and be Wi Fi equipped for the early morning laptop crowd.  For the night owls, Fridays will start presenting live events, bands and open-mic nights.

“It’s a response to what customers are looking for,” says CEO Brian Gies, explaining that flexibility and fluidity were behind the new concepts.  Fridays hopes to become a lunch spot, an off-campus office meeting place and a central base for the work-at-home types.  The restaurant is no longer just an after work escape or for the weekend crowd . “We’re finding that people will use the grab-and-go to bring something back to their table, or if they’ve been at the bar having a beer and they’re winding down, they may grab a bite to go,” Gies said. “It’s about delivering flexibility.”

The underlying message to all these changes is that older restaurant chains need to learn to adapt to millennials.  In last year alone, millennials purchased $2.45 trillion in goods and services, and are looking for greater flexibility in their dining options.  They also want a place that looks like they belong there. “Today’s younger consumer wants to go to a place that their parents didn’t patronize,” said Darren Tristano, president of restaurant consultancy Technomic. He says they expect up-to-date technology, like tablets on the table and digital reservations.  However, Fridays isn’t looking to cater to millennials, but rather the “millennial-minded. It doesn’t have to be handcuffed to a certain age,” Gies said. “It’s about how customers think.”

Is there a chance Fridays might convert all there locations to the prototype in Texas?  “If the sales are anything like what we’ve seen already,” Gies said, “the likelihood is high.”